


A gang of total psychos

by orphan_account



Series: Borderlands [2]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Guns, Headcanon, M/M, Mystery, Suspence, Violence, backstabbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-06-23 10:10:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15604017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The hierarchy of Hyperion has been no challenge for Catlynne to overcome, with Jack dead, and she, set up for life, it seems like nothing could possibly go wrong. Until things do.





	1. A corporate mess

The stone of the volcanic plateau felt warm beneath the synthetic skin of my right hand as I used it to prop myself up. The other, was trying to subdue the painful headache that came with waking up from being unconscious for god knows how long. 

It must've been a couple of days, at the very least. The length of time paired with the dry heat, left me parched. 

Before doing anything, I felt a rush of pain as a bullet hole appeared in my thigh. Hastily, I grabbed the last Eridium cartridge from my gear-chip and switched it in.  
"Ahh." I sighed. The alien mineral clouded my mind for about an hour after taking it now, prior to sharpening my senses to a razor-sharp edge. But, I shook off some of the haze and focused for a bit. 

I had a few questions on my mind: One, did Handsome Jack die, or the Vault Hunters? The massive body of what I assumed to be the Warrior, draped limply over the side of the cliff, answered my question. Two, were my ribs cracked, or just bruised? From the extreme pain that came with moving, I would say they were cracked, at the very least. Too bad I had given my last heath-pak to Maya. The final question plaguing my brain was: Does this mean I've inherited Hyperion? It was a question that I couldn't solve lying in the middle of a volcano, that's for sure. 

I bit my tongue as I slowly stood up, holding my right side and feeling something crusty. It was dried blood from where the Warrior had slashed me to the side and put me where I was now. The dark blood was left to scab up until I could find a heath kit. 

The cliff wasn't that far up, about twelve feet. It would've been a breeze to climb if I didn't have broken ribs. Still, it was alright if I just focused on climbing and not on the pain or blood trickling from my wound. 

When I'd reached the top, I saw what happened. Jack was dead, a bullet hole through his skull. But, his mask was gone, revealing an arching blue scar across his face. 

"Not so Handsome now, are you?" I said, kicking the side of his head. 

The Vault key was gone, most likely taken by the Vault Hunters. Hell, I would've done the same thing if I hadn't been unconscious for a few days. The Warrior's head was bashed in with what I could only assume was a moonshot, but I recovered some "scales" from it to display in my office. 

Since most of the guards and important people in Helios somewhat lacked a functioning brain, it would be easy for me to just walk in and tell them that Jack was dead, and I was their new president. But some weren't that stupid and would need proof that Jack was dead. I believed his pocket watch would do the trick. So, I nicked it from his jacket. 

Being the curious person, I am, I opened the pocket watch. Inside was a tiny picture of Angel as a toddler in the arms of who I surmised was her mother. She had the same bright blue eyes and dark hair, but she wasn't a Siren. 

I wiped away small tears that had fallen down my cheeks and closed the watch, before limping to the half-broken fast travel station and heading up to Helios. 

When I arrived in the Hub of Heroism, I was instantly overwhelmed with the feeling of nausea, being watched, and the sudden burst of noise, and muttered a weak: "hello, I am your new boss..." Before crumpling to the floor. 

I awoke in a small medical room, not so damn fancy as the ones before, but I did not mind at all. Except for the atrocious hospital gown I wore.  
I had a mask on that fed me oxygen, and a lot of sutures in my side. Heath kits only did so much, anyways.  
My cybernetic leg had been replaced with a newer one, but the colour was the same. Albeit, a bit less yellow and more grey.  
Another change was with my vision, my eyes did sting a little, but I could see much clearer than before, ECHO contact lenses, I guessed. 

"Hey, welcome back. You had quite the adventure down on Pandora, didn't you?" A nurse with a clipboard said. 

"Can I take this mask off?" I requested. 

"Well, you're breathing fine now, so I don't see why not." She replied, checking my vitals. I removed the mask and sat up. "Oh, careful! You wouldn't want to re-open your injuries." 

I waved her away and reached for the cup of water beside my bed, draining the whole thing in one gulp. 

"Sorry, was really thirsty." I apologized, moving to get off the bed. 

"Ma'am, you have four broken ribs and a nasty concussion. I can't let you start walking right away." 

"I-" 

"I understand that you're the new CEO and all, but I wouldn't let even Handsome Jack leave this room if he was in your condition. Sit down." 

I stared at her with my mouth open like an idiot for five seconds before reclining on the hospital bed. 

"Now, what do you want to eat?" 

 

It was torture, being stuck in that room for a month and a half while I waited for my ribs to heal completely. I could walk around just fine, to go to the washroom or to the window that overlooked the dark abyss of outer space. The doctors and nurses wouldn't even let me get any work done because I needed to rest. Still, I had an online conference with Vladof and Dahl about business opportunities. Dahl, always thinking that Hyperion was a scourge upon the galaxies, didn't even negotiate, and Vladof was expecting Handsome Jack. Therefore, they had no respect for me, and repeatedly told me to go back to delivering food. It was hard to act diplomatic when they made comments and insults like that. Eventually, after clever threats and bribery, I got them to exchange some weapon designs. 

The day before I was officially discharged, a package came in the mail. Shipped directly from Elpis, Pandora's moon. It was a rapid-fire cryo pistol sent by both companies to "thank me" for the designs. In truth, it was most likely an insurance that I wouldn't carry out my threats. I sent them back a thanks for the weapon and their co-operation. 

I finally had my own office, right beside Jack's old one, which not a soul could enter anymore, except for tours. There were piles of paperwork on my desk, which I handed over to Meg, Jack's old assistant, to take care of. 

One whole year and everything went smoothly. I had a vice president whose name was Henderson, and all the money and power I could ask for. Just had to make sure the ultimate power didn't corrupt ultimately, as it had done to Handsome Jack. That was even more difficult, since I was only sixteen. 

As I hummed the opening tune to my favourite ECHOnet show: Game of Games while looking to get some new furniture for my office, I received a call. That was weird, since Henderson was supposed to take my calls, or let me know someone was calling in advance. I answered it anyway. 

"Hello?" I asked. 

"This is Hugo Vasquez, I would like to request a meeting you sometime this afternoon." 

Goddamn it, Vasquez was one of the most egotistic people on Helios, possibly even more so than Jack himself. Although that might be a long shot. 

"And why should I meet with you?" I replied lazily. 

"I have a few business opportunities that I'd like to discuss with you." 

"I swear, if this is about your promotion-" 

"It's not. Trust me. I just want to discuss some of my ideas." 

I don't trust anyone, on principal. That's how I got here in the first place. But I conceded. 

"Sure. I have an opening at five, after my Jakobs conference." I said, hanging up before he could say anything. "Ugh...I hate people." I sighed, putting my head on the desk. 

The Jakobs conference went smoothly...enough. They didn’t like my idea of pulling back some of their advertisements on Pandora, so the citizens could experience some more sophisticated weaponry, and ended up walking out on me and my gun designers and engineers. 

“Not passionate enough.” They said. Can you believe that?” I complained to Meg as I sipped some tea from a black and gold mug. 

“No, ma’am. I cannot believe that.” She replied nervously, scribbling down something on a clipboard. 

“Meg, I’m not Handsome Jack. I don’t need someone to agree with everything I say. You’re a smart person, what’s your opinion on that meeting?” I said, going back to the brewer. 

“Oh, I don’t think my thoughts are that important.” 

“Don’t kid yourself, Meg.” 

“If you really want my opinion... I guess it would be beneficial for both companies if you let them keep their advertisements. You would only have to step up the quality of Hyperion’s ads, and possibly drop the prices a dollar or two, so the bandits could afford them and see how good they are.” She replied anxiously, as if she thought I’d shoot her if she spoke out of turn. 

“Good idea, Meg. I’ll make a note of it. Ah, there’s no more water in this, could you boil some for me?” I asked. 

“Of course!” 

“Thank you.” 

I had another two cups of tea before I noticed the clock. 5:30, it read in electronic lettering on my watch. Quickly putting my paperwork back on my mahogany and brass desk, I grabbed my ECHO, tied my hair up, and hesitated on bringing my gun.  
There it sat, in a display case behind me. Matte black contrasted with the polished silver detail that reflected the warm lighting.  
I didn’t have a good feeling about this meeting in the first place, so I brought it along. 

I walked down the pristine white hallways, my short-heeled boots clicking as I walked. In the beginning, I didn’t quite know what my “style” was, so I went with my old corporate/formal clothes and stuck with it. Changing the pencil skirt to a pair of black dress pants instead. 

Upon entering Vasquez’s tiny office, I knew something was up. Two Hyperion soldiers stood at the door, barring my exit. 

“You made it.” He said sarcastically. “Pull up a seat, Cat.” 

“Don’t call me “Cat,” you aren’t my friend, so do not call me that. Now, what business did you have with me?” I didn’t sit down. 

“You’ve been fired, Cat.” I took a step back towards the door, unholstering my gun. Though, the guards at the exit stopped me. 

“Put down the pistol, kid, you’re making it harder on yourself. Just go with them to the planetary shuttle and relinquish your position and property to me. Because really? Handsome Jack would never give you all that power, be realistic.” He continued. 

“How dare you, you piece of shit.” I snarled, aiming my gun at his head. 

“Alright, I can see negotiating with a Pandoran isn’t going to get me anywhere. Take her back home, where she belongs.” Vasquez replied. 

Before the guards could advance on me, I shot both in the chest a few times and escaped while Hugo looked stunned. 

 

When I arrived at my office, I locked the doors and barred them. None of those backstabbing traitors would get a single thing that was in my possession. 

It was no use fighting to remain on Helios, there were too many corrupt security guards who would overpower me the second I left my small sanctuary. So, I changed into new clothes, more befitting of someone who lived on Pandora: Pale blue jeans, ripped at the knees from years of climbing. Light grey ankle boots, and a smoke grey t-shirt, cropped slightly at the bottom. I also tied a navy blue jacket and two belts around my waist that had packages for storage on either side. 

Once I had a bag packed with water, food, and extra ammo, I left a note that Meg could have 50 percent of my income, my office, and my wardrobe. Before leaving the space station in an escape pod built into my living quarters. 

I was headed home.


	2. Back home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fixed up the chapter, for those that read mark one! Didn't know how to make it longer, so...apologies?

Helios seemed strangely big from the outside, as I zoomed away at a breakneck speed towards Pandora. Suppose it was a side-effect of being inside those smooth, tiled walls for a couple years. 

It never occurred to me how young I was, to have had so many life-changing experiences within such a short time.   
My vision turned to a blur of fire as the pod broke atmosphere, people on Pandora may have mistaken me for a shooting star. Fun to think about, not so fun to go through.

The escape pod had a cooling system, but it did little against the heat radiating from outside. The brilliant flames turned to black as I fell unconscious, the volume of things for my brain to take in was too much to handle.

I woke with a crash and a plume of dust, the rising sun catching the small debris and turning them into flecks of pure gold. Speaking of which, gold was really the only color I could see. It seemed my destiny, to die in the sands of the far-reaching Dust. 

“Just my luck.” I muttered to myself, unbuckling my seat-belt and gathering my bag of food, water and ammunition. The heavy metal door didn’t cave when I pushed on it, not even when I slammed my foot into it repeatedly. I started to have a small panic attack before realizing there was a switch that unlocked the door. 

“Oh. Right.” The yellow paint on the side of the escape pod had been scraped off by what I assumed was the rust-coloured rock jutting out from the sand. 

My bag was swung over my left shoulder, and I brushed off the sand that’d stuck in my robotic leg and started walking. And walking. And walking some more. Eventually, I caught sight of Ellie’s, and the road that led to Three Horns valley. So, I immediately turned around and headed the other way. 

As I was walking, I started to wish that Jack was still alive. If he was, I would currently be back up on Helios, and the Vault Hunters would be very much dead. Or, maybe he would change his ways and let them be. Hunt Vaults on other planets. Probably not. Perhaps Nisha was still breathing, out in Lynchwood. I saw a bandit technical headed my way. When it got close enough, I stuck my thumb out and the truck slowed down. 

“Where ‘ya goin’ lady?” The driver asked. 

“Lynchwood. I’d pay you if you could take me there quickly.” 

He laughed. “You got no cash on ‘ya!” 

I reached into the holster on my thigh and shot him in the chest. “I offered, but you declined.” 

The psychos and marauders in the back scattered into the desert when I pulled the dying driver out of the seat and climbed in.

“You’re a bitch...” The dying bandit said. 

“Not often, but to you bandits, I’ve learned to show no mercy.” I replied, before driving off with the setting sun at my back. 

 

Lynchwood seemed quiet, as I exited the train car. That was until I reached the main street. Fires had broken out all through town. Psychos ran rampant around the tracks and rooftops while marauders and nomads yelled and shouted. 

“Well, guess Nisha’s dead.” I mumbled unhappily, walking up the steps to a higher vantage point. From my gear-chip I chose a megaphone that someone had given to me a while back and hoped that these idiots still knew who I was. So, I brought up my best no-nonsense Hyperion attitude and spoke. “HEY, IDIOTS!” I yelled. Most stopped what they were doing and looked up at me. 

“NOW, OBVIOUSLY THE SHERIFF IS DEAD. THAT IS WHY I AM HERE TO REPLACE HER!”

To my dismay, they all started to laugh. A loud, harsh laugh that hung in the air a few seconds after they finished. “You don’t belong here!” One of the Nomads retorted. 

I rolled my eyes in annoyance and jumped down to the ground. Without a second thought, I shot down the Nomad who had spoken and all the bandits within ten feet of me. That stopped them laughing. 

“Okay. As I said. I am your new sheriff. If anyone has a problem with that...you know where to find me.” Leaving the bandits staring, I left the main street and returned to what used to be Nisha's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That took a while. Sorry for the inconsistent updating, I've been away the past week.  
> Thanks again for reading!  
> ~JustMaggie


	3. A new Sheriff in town

I fell asleep on the couch with a quilted blanket over me. As per frickin’ usual. 

When I woke up, the air conditioning was a welcome combatant to the dry heat. On a large, wooden chair lay a long jacket with a glowing sheriffs’ star on the breast. I swung it over my shoulders only to notice some “questionable stains” on the sleeves and bottom of the jacket. Completely grossed out, I reached for my knife and sliced off the infected bits. 

“Ew! Ew! Ew! Gross!!!” I walked out of the shack with the mangled jacket pinched in my fingers, out into whatever street this was and dunked it into a barrel of water. 

“Hey! We were gonna-” I glared at the bandit who spoke. “Never mind, sorry, sheriff.” 

I finished washing the thing, but the sleeves and bottom were completely irreparable, so I hacked away at them with my hunting knife until I had a sort of t-shirt jacket...thing. It fit alright, so I put it on before perusing around town. 

In a secluded alley, I found a small shop called “V good guns.” A girl with sandy blonde hair tied back in a braid was sitting inside with her feet up on the counter. When I pushed open the broken glass door, a bell rang, startling her to her feet. 

“Hello, miss! Are you interested in buying a gun or selling one? I'm V, the owner of this establishment. We have-”   
“-Shut your trap. All I need to know is who started the parties and fires last night.” 

She noticed the sheriff’s star on my chest and said, “oh, YOU’RE the new sheriff everyone’s been talking about. A lot shorter than our last one.” I interrupted her with a bullet shattering one of the dusty glass displays. “Ok! Ok! It was the old sheriff’s posse! You know, the ones who ride armoured skags around.” 

“I know who you’re talking about. Sorry for the display,” I tossed a couple coins from my pocket, “get some better merch, good god.” 

She nodded as I swung the door open and strode down main street until just out of the town. The rats didn’t give me much trouble when I walked past. 

“Attention, idiots!” I called up to the posse’s office. No answer. “Hello?!” Nothing. 

“Hey, rat!” I trotted over to where one of the cannibalistic bandits was digging. 

“What do you want?” It replied, looking back at me with white eyes and long, yellow teeth. 

“Ugh. Could you tell me where the posse is?” I asked, trying to ignore its gross face. 

“The sheriff’sss possse isss in there. They are hoarding Eridium. None for usss now.” 

I narrowed my eyes and drummed my fingers on my thigh, thinking of what to do. “Thanks.” I said. The rat went back to its digging and I sauntered over to the office. At the entrance, I was stopped by three low growls. The giant, heavily-armoured Skags that the posse rode, tied up and vicious. “Good boys. Shhh,” I said as I shot them all in the neck. “There we go.” 

The office door was left open, a thin violet smoke wafted out into the air where it dissipated. “Hmm.” 

As I stepped over upturned chairs and desks I realized justice wasn’t my only reason for being here. Eridium, to me, was the only reason I was still alive. And if these now bandits had all of it, I wouldn't expect to live long. The Vault Hunters had seen to that. 

The wooden steps creaked as I slowly walked up them, but the sound was drowned out by the slurred voices of the inhabitants. The purple haze had grown thicker as I ascended the stairs. Then I found the skag riders. 

“Hey, fellas!” They spun around to gape at me, obviously, I had kicked them off cloud nine so hard they couldn’t take the shock and fell to the floor, totally unconscious. “That was easy.” I said, dragging them down the steps and out onto the sand before checking out the room. As it turned out, the rat was right. Crates upon crates of raw, crystalized Eridium sat around the foggy room, glowing amythyst. 

“So how did you take it?” I wondered aloud. But a smoldering fire in the far corner with a small iron pot overtop and a barrelful of hypodermic needles gave me my answer. I slowly walked over to the cauldron and jumped away when a large bubble popped, splattering a bit of the liquid alien mineral on the floor. The fire could burn down the old wooden building for all I cared, but this Eridium had to be salvaged. 

Outside, I found the rat that’d helped me earlier and told him that if he found four trustworthy others and moved all the crates from the office they would get a whole box of it. He happily agreed and ran off to gather his gang. Now the only thing left to do was get these backstabbers to the gallows and hang them in front of the town. 

I found a crowbar in the mess of the entryway and pried off a small minecart. Not too small, though. I could fit at least two of the unconscious bodies in it, perhaps all three, if I stacked them carefully. I chuckled at the thought and pulled the first traitor into the cart. 

Hauling them back to where I was staying wasn’t easy. The carts’ wheels hadn’t been oiled in years and the three passengers added what was close to an extra 400 pounds. I pulled at the front and pushed at the back, yet nothing seemed to move them easily. 

In defeat, I sat down with a huff next to the minecart and wiped the sweat off my brow. As I was sitting there, contemplating my life choices, I realized that the locks on the wheels had been on the entire time. 

“Are you friggin’ kidding me?” I said, unlocking the wheels and pulling along the cart like it was no big deal. “Well this is so much simpler!” 

By the time I had hauled them to the front of town, the rats had transported the carts of Eridium to my house and I rewarded them for it...with a bullet in the skull. If they actually thought they were going to get a single crystal of that stash, they were kidding themselves. 

I had the new gallows put up at once, and the three traitors handcuffed and placed under a rope. 

From the house I was staying in, I brought my megaphone and called anyone who would listen. 

“People of Lynchwood! This is your sheriff speaking! Today, we continue to scrub the grime out of this city, one traitor at a time. Truthfully, I should execute all of you and save the trouble, but where’s the fun in that?!” No laughter came from the group, some more members trickling in to fill the gaps. 

“Wake. Them. Up.” I hissed to an assistant, who bashed all of them in the chest. They woke up alright, completely sober and terrified. 

“We’re sorry for taking your Eridium, miss! We just didn’t think anyone would-” “-Would replace Nisha? Well, that’s where you’re wrong, sweetheart.” 

They yelled desperate pleas at me while I strung them up, but I was indifferent to them. And when I pulled the lever and heard the sound of their necks snap, I rather enjoyed it. Although I shouldn’t have. 

As night fell, I changed out of my clothes and went for a swim in the old Eridium quarry. The veins had been dry for a while, so there was just water and a lot of shrapnel from the blown-up train track above. Some others had obviously swum in the quarry before me, as a pair of goggles and a makeshift snorkel had been discarded near the water’s edge. 

I gracefully glided through the murky water, weaving in between sharp pieces of metal and exploring what I could of the man-made lake before growing tired and drying off. 

Main street was a lot more conserved when I made my final rounds. And I was in a good mood when I changed my Eridium cartridge and relaxed into bed. This didn’t remain so for the rest of the night, however. 

A loud yell woke me up straightaway. Quickly, I changed before storming outside, my gun unholstered and fully loaded. 

A circle of my bandits had surrounded someone or something near Lynchwood station. 

“Alright, alright! Out of my way!” 

I was expecting a raid, or Vault hunters even. Not two washed-up Hyperion employees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, I have a massive writing block right now, and also haven't been able to get to my computer. See ya next week though.  
> ~JustMaggie


	4. Tales from Lynchwood

I was taken aback for a few seconds before shaking it off and barking a command. 

“Get them inside...my office. Now! And get me some food for them, it’s almost dawn anyway.” I said, picking up a dropped stun baton and following the bandits dragging the two through the sand. Once they were both inside, I filled the coffee pot with water and started the cycle. Also getting two glasses of ice water and placing them on one of the side tables. 

After about an hour, the one with the cybernetic arm and ECHOeye woke up. I thought I recognized him from somewhere; it was Rhys. And his strangely muscular friend must’ve been Vaughn. 

“Hey, where are we?” He asked. 

“You are in Lynchwood, Rhys. A far cry from Helios, huh?” He looked surprised. “How’d you get here anyways? You two look like you’ve been out there for weeks!” 

“Yeah, um. I don’t know where that is,” he looked over his shoulder and nodded, “oh. Ok, now I do.” 

“Don’t look so frightened, Rhys has been talking to-” Rhys stunted his sentence with a sharp look, “-himself, recently. It’s perfectly ok though.” Vaughn’s voice made me jump as he sat up and put his shirt back on. “We all do that sometimes...right?” 

I didn’t answer but narrowed my eyes in suspicion of Rhys. From my years of doing the exact same thing, I could tell that Vaughn was covering for his best friend. He was lying to me. 

“Yes, well. Do any of you want some coffee? I just made a fresh batch.” 

“No!” Rhys replied accusingly. 

“Excuse me?” I retorted with a dash of sharpness. 

“I wasn’t talking to you, haha...sorry, I’ll leave now.” He walked nervously into the closest room and shut the door. 

When he was gone, I turned to Vaughn and put my interrogation skills to work. 

“Ok. You are going to tell me what the scoop is with Rhys and talking to himself. Because there is something else going on, and believe me, I am going to figure out what that is.” 

He cowered under the shadow of me standing in front of a dusty window.

“He told me not to tell anyone, especially not anyone from Hyperion.” 

“Ah, so it has to do with the company... Well, since I was the last President, I should know. I’ve always been good at keeping secrets, it was kinda my job back when I worked for that sonofabitch Jack.” 

I grabbed my gun from the counter just in case anything went south and told Vaughn to stay where he was before knocking on the door. In a few seconds, Rhys stepped out. 

“Hey?” He said, going to sit on the couch. 

“Okay. I need some answers and I need them now. Not everybody just talks to themselves casually. What are you hiding?” Rhys scratched the back of his neck. “Honestly, it would be better if you just let it go and send us back to the Dust. 

“You should’ve known that would just make me more curious, Rhys. Look, I’ll even put the gun down,” I said, holstering my pistol, “see? Perfectly safe. Now just rip off the band-aid.” I even sat down to listen. 

“Alright, so I may have accidentally...downloaded Handsome Jack into my brain.” 

I was shocked, obviously, and scared too. So, I may have done a stupid thing, but it seemed right at the time. 

“Out. Now. I don’t want anything to do with him or the company again. He already caused me enough strife.” I spat, scratching the synthetic skin on my right hand. 

“Wh-what do you mean?” Rhys asked. 

“Is he here, in the room?” I retorted, locking eyes with the company man. 

“Yes.” 

“Where?” I was getting angry now. 

“On the couch, there.” Rhys said, pointing. I mustered up all the courage I could and tried to stop my arms from trembling as I took a few steps towards the invisible enemy I had grown to hate. 

“Alright, Jackass. Remember me? Remember how you ruined my life?!” God, I hope he heard me. “You’re nothing. You’re no one. Not anymore. An AI, Rhys said? Ha, look how far you have fallen...kiddo.” 

At this point, Rhys looked scared. “He’s uh, he’s trying to strangle you.” He said. 

“Well I only have one more thing left to say before you three get out of my town,” I smiled, “you’re too late, bandit. I. win.” I said, before walking away calmly to the kitchen and filling up two litres of water. 

“Here. Tomorrow you'll take these and get where you need to go. The last thing I want is Hyperion on my tail again. 

They left the next morning, taking that echo of Handsome Jack with them, and I was glad. 

But Hyperion would soon be the least of my concerns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really am sorry for the super short chapters, I just want to get to the really good parts at the end.  
> Thanks!  
> ~JustMaggie


	5. Sanctuary I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cat is back in Sanctuary...(dramatic music)

I’d made some changes to my radio so it picked up more stations the day after those two had left. It gave me something to do before I started my weekly patrol of the town. It was mostly quiet, except for the trains that sped through, carrying their tonnes of cargo to wherever on Pandora they were going. Maybe some of them were taking stuff up to the space station like food or supplies. Honestly, I didn’t care anymore. When I got tired, I popped two light purple tablets with some water from a plastic bottle. 

The week before, I’d decided that the cartridges to put into my arm were a bit too much of a hassle and went to work on making something I could eat. Eventually, after lots of failed attempts, a small oval pill was created that dissolved on my tongue. It provided the same results as the cartridges but was much easier to make. 

The Pandoran sun was high in the clear blue sky and outside was blisteringly hot, so I blasted my radio and cleaned up the house a bit. The station was playing the new album from Disturbance! at the dancing place, my new favourite band. Since I thought myself alone, I was dancing away. “And you’re guilty as charged, guilty as charged...” I sung aloud, moving around furniture. A glance out my window as I was cleaning it told me that the residents of Lynchwood were chasing something, guns blazing. One part of my brain told me to go out and see what the deal was, while the other part said to stay inside because hey, it was cooler and had awesome music playing. I went with the latter and started wiping up the floor. 

With a bucket full of water, a bottle of dish soap, and a dusty old mop in hand, I went to work with the music still quite loud. Dancing around the living room with a mop was quite fun, even though I slipped a couple times. “Dancin’, dancin’, dancing’s not a-” my radio stopped abruptly in the middle of my ballad. “-What is it now?” I turned to the doorway and let out a surprised yell. Ok, more like terrified, but it wasn’t that loud. 

Four people had piled into the entryway. Vault Hunters. I leaped for my gun on the table next to me. 

“Uh un. You’re coming with us, Hyperion.” Said Axton, the ex-Dahl soldier before I was rudely electrocuted and blacked out. 

The heat was the first thing that woke me up, and the chatter around me. My eyes opened to see the gold sands flying by. Unfortunately, it was that, and my hair as the wind kept whipping it into my face; my hands were of no use to me now, as they were shackled to a link on the seat beside me. Once again, I had a hell of a headache and no Eridium to kill the pain. Just a whole whack of Vault Hunters laughing at their own jokes. 

“Morning, Hyperion! How’s life?” Japed Gaige, the youngest of the six. 

“It was fine...until you guys showed up.” I grumbled back, scowling. 

“Aww, don’t say that,” Maya interrupted from the driver's seat, “that old shack was hideous!” 

I rolled my eyes, completely annoyed and very carsick. “Alright...real talk. Can you like, slow down a few lightyears? I feel like I’m about to spill my guts all over this floor.” 

“Don’t you dare.” Warned Axton. 

“You’ll ruin all the nice bloodstains and skag bile.” Continued Salvador, the truxican dwarf. 

My stomach was churning something awful. Ultimately, when I couldn’t stand the nausea anymore, it was over the side of the truck my breakfast went; much to the displeasure of my fellow passengers. 

“Aw, dude...at least it wasn’t in the car.” Said Gaige. “Ooh, Maya, could you turn up the radio? I really like this song!” 

I, however, really DIDN’T want to hear Highway to Heck by DC/AC on the way back to Sanctuary, but I was feeling too ill to complain when all of them started singing. 

We arrived at Ellie’s garage as soon as the sun began to set. Too bad I couldn’t enjoy my favourite time of day instead of being trapped in a metal wagon with four over-happy Vault Hunters and feeling like I could puke my guts out at any given time. Truth is, I had the jar of Eridium tablets in my belt pocket but couldn’t reach them because all of them were there. 

Sanctuary wasn’t a welcome sight, and the flying aspect made it worse. Moxxi’s bar lights flashed in red, yellow and green brightly across the streets and pop music blared across the city like she didn’t even care. Classic Mox. I couldn’t go there, obviously. 

Apparently, I was staring because Maya grabbed my arm and dragged me away. 

“Do you ever miss this place?” She asked as we turned a corner to the centre of town. 

“Miss it? No, siren. I don’t.” I replied tiredly, trying to sound tough. 

She furrowed her brows. “You know, Catlynne, I was trying to be nice to you after you saved my life back in that Vault. To think I was actually exited to meet you from what Lilith had told me. Oh well.” 

I was too tired to come up with a proper response. 

The rest of the Vault Hunters were either at Moxxi’s or asleep on the bunk beds. Including someone who I didn’t expect to see there. 

“Ugh, Lilith’s out. This is your room, up here.” Maya gestured to an open door leading to a broken room overlooking the mountains of the highlands. A single, shabby-looking bed sat in the corner with nothing else but a couple safes. 

“You’re kidding.” I replied, wide-eyed. 

“No. I’m not.” Maya snarled, her voice strangely cold. She pushed me into the room and shut the door behind me. 

My shackles were just duct-tape, but they were very resilient. Instead of wasting energy trying to undo them, I bent awkwardly to reach for the bottle of Eridium “supplements” in my pocket and took two for the night. The blankets on the bed were torn and motheaten and a weird shade of beige, much unlike the down comforters back in the Bunker; or even the layers and layers of thick throw blankets in Lynchwood. 

The moon shone in through the gaping hole in my room, casting a pale silver light over everything. The bed was supremely uncomfortable, and the blankets provided little warmth. At about 1am, or so my watch told me, a loud bang woke me up from my light slumber. The bang was followed by a jumble of voices that sounded inebriated at the least. I peeked from a small crack in the door as Lilith, Mordecai, and Brick walked past, laughing; just to fall onto their beds and pass out. 

 

The next morning, a loud banging and a yell of, “get up!” opened my eyes. For just a second, I mistook where I was; thinking maybe I had ended up a year back in time. No, that was stupid. 

“Catlynne, I’m not going to tell you again! Lilith has questions that need answering and you’re lucky you aren’t being tied to a pole like Athena.” Maya warned. “I’m opening the door now.” 

She walked through the doorway and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the map room of HQ. 

“Sit there, the rest will be back soon. Gaige is going to monitor you until they come back from getting coffee.” 

As if on cue, the Mechromancer came bouncing into the room with a different hairstyle than before. Instead of two pigtails held high on her head, the short red hair was down and had a baseball hat over it. 

“Heya, Cat!” 

I’d started to hate that nickname. 

“Hi, Gaige. Please don’t call me Cat, Catlynne or even “Hyperion” is ok, but not Cat.” 

She looked pensive for a moment before hopping up onto the counter across from me and staring at a piece of what seemed to be the Vault Key suspended in a purple orb. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be watching me until Lilith gets back?” I asked, surprised at her non-chalant attitude. 

“They’ll be a while. Athena spends like, an hour searching for the right latte shop and of course Tina goes with her because Tina wants to try coffee, and then Axton’ll probs want another americano, then Lilith will want another double espresso because more espresso less depresso; you follow me? It just goes on and on.” She rambled. 

“More espresso less depresso?” I chuckled. 

“Yeah, ever since Roland died she’s been a little...indulgent with the coffee. She’s alright though, at least she says she is.” 

“Waitwaitwait. Did you say Athena was here? Like, the gladiator Athena that saved the moon?” I asked. 

“Yeah, Brick and Mordy caught her out in the eastern tundra. Some queenpin named Vallory hired them to take her out of her hair. I don’t know the full details, since I was hunting a vault on a different planet.” 

The sound of a door closing caught our attention. 

“That’ll be them with my caffé affogato. Good luck!” With that, she trotted off downstairs and started talking off the ear of some other poor soul. I still have no idea what a café affogato is. 

Lilith, the siren walked in looking absolutely pissed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we are back in the flying city. YAY!


	6. Sanctuary II

The red-haired siren carried about five cups of what I assumed to be coffee in her arms and nearly threw them down on the table, spilling a bit of the brown liquid onto the map below.  
“Hey, Lil. You look better then when I last saw you.” I quipped.

“Shut up, you backstabbing bitch.” She retorted through her teeth, glaring at me.

“Not happy with me, I guess? Well, I’m not exactly thrilled with myself either, ya’ know.”  
She picked up the first paper cup and began chugging the contents. 

“Start talking. I want to know why you chose Jack over us. Leave out no detail.” 

Then I told my story, what did you think?” Catlynne asked, swirling ice and water around in a small, round glass.

“I understand where you’re coming from, but that gives you no excuse for the crimes you have committed.” Lilith replied. 

“What?” Before she could continue her phrase, Lilith gestured towards the door. Axton and Maya grabbed Cat by the arms and started pulling her downstairs.  
“What are you doing?!” She cried, resisting their grasp.

“Well, I don’t need you anymore. It’s much cleaner to just give you a little push off the side of Sanctuary then to shoot you.” The siren said.  
“No! You can’t! Haven’t I shown you what I’ve been through?!” 

“If it weren’t for you, everyone that’s died would’ve still been alive!” She retorted, now trailing through town square.

“Same goes for Angel, and I didn’t see you try to kill her!” Catlynne spat.  
“She-”  
“Was controlled by Jack? I was no different! I’ve suffered all the same scars as you, and my fill of lost battles. Fine, throw me into oblivion. Besides, I don’t have anything left anyway.” 

The red-haired Siren’s face was red and angry-looking as she marched behind Maya and Axton towards the looming edge of the flying city.  
They had reached the brink of Sanctuary, and Catlynne was standing a millimetre away from the drop, still handcuffed.  
“Any last words?” Lilith asked.

“You could’ve saved them, you know. You could’ve saved them all.” Cat replied, head held high.  
Lilith had a few small tears trickling down her face now. 

“Aw, did I make the all-powerful Firehawk cry because I opened an old wound? Well, I’m not sorry.” Catlynne continued, rocking on the balls of her feet. “Are you going to push me off or shall I do the honours?”

As Lilith was about to storm forward, the legendary gladiator, Athena, rushed forward to block her path.  
“What are you doing?” She barked at the Siren.

“Executing a prisoner for war crimes against the Crimson Raiders!” She yelled back.

“There may not be some weird-ass alien descending from out of the blue to tell you otherwise, but you need to start looking past the end of your own nose and thinking before you act. That there,” she pointed at the dark-haired girl wobbling over the cloudy sky, “is a child. If you didn’t hear, she is SIXTEEN YEARS OLD! Of course, she is going to be selfish and manipulative, that’s what kids do!”

After a time, the Firehawk let out an annoyed sigh and retreated. “Fine.” 

Athena backed up also, just as Catlynne noticed the sniper up on the roof behind Lilith. Too late, as a single bullet zipped through the air and dug a hole through her neck; she didn’t even have time to make a sound. Most of the people around her yelled in surprise, and Maya ran over to the still standing Catlynne.  
“Did it miss?” She asked urgently. 

“Nope.” Cat coughed as she noticed the substantial blood dripping down her neck. “Nice shot, Mordy!” 

“What the hell?!” Lilith reacted, doing a double take. “That’s not...you couldn’t have...do you have Eridium on you? That's the only way someone could survive a shot like that.”

“Ha ha. You caught me... Can someone get me a towel or something? Mordecai ruined my new shirt. 

“Hand the stuff over, first.” Lilith reasoned.

“No. These are mine.” Sterling said, clutching the purple pills close to her chest. “You have Eridium of your own.”

“Cat. Give me the Eridium, now. I could still push you off the side.”

While contemplating the question, a small figure dashed behind Catlynne and snatched the jar from her hands.  
“Damnit, Tina! Give that back!” She yelled.

With a giggle, Tiny Tina, the explosives expert, handed the Eridium over to the siren and sat down on one of the concrete steps with a varkid in a moustached and monacled jar.  
“Thanks. I’ll confiscate this for now, until you can be trusted.”

“But I’ll die without it!” The girl complained. 

“I am sure that you’ll be fine.” Lilith replied, walking back to HQ. “She can go without the manacles for now, Maya. Just keep her busy, there are plenty of jobs around here that need completing.”  
Released from her shackles, Cat massaged her wrists and went to thank the Gladiator.  
“Hey, Athena is it?” She began.

“Yes. That’s my name.” Athena responded, fixing her scarf.

“Right, I just wanted to thank you for saving my life back there. Glad to not be dead.”

“Not a problem. Jack affected many people in many ways, it’s not your fault he overwhelmed you. That much power and influence is appealing when all you’ve known is blood and smoke, if you get my meaning.”

“I do. Much obliged.” With that, Catlynne followed the rest of the Vault Hunters back into headquarters and awaited instruction. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ok, Hyperion, there’s a lot of stuff to do and more than enough time to do it.” Maya started, leaning against a bunk bed. “So, here’s a list of things to get started on.” She handed the young girl a notepad with about two dozen things written down.  
Sterling scanned the page.

“Clean the toilets? Ew! Have you seen the toilets recently?” She complained.  
“Yes. That’s why you have to clean them.”  
The teen rolled her lilac eyes and shambled off to the bathroom. At least she was out of the way of their new Bunkers and Badasses campaign, Maya thought.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Toilets, seriously? What could be worse than-“ before Cat noticed the psycho standing outside the bathrooms. She approached carefully and introduced herself.  
“Hi, I’m Catlynne. Are you here to supervise me? Because, I don’t need it.”  
“HYPE GIRL NEEDS TO BE SUPERVISED! RED FIRE HAIR SAID!”  
“Oookay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I am trying to work through a massive writing block, so apologies for that. Anywho, see y'all next wweek!  
> ~JustMaggie


	7. Like a bug.

When the sun retreated under the horizon, Krieg brought Catlynne back to HQ before going for a walk or something. 

“Good evening, Hyperion. We were just finishing playing Bunkers and Badasses.” Said Gaige as Sterling walked through the door. 

“Hi, I was just wondering where I’ll be sleeping? Toilet cleaning is- whew- exhausting!” 

The group of Vault Hunters chuckled amongst themselves and exchanged a few whispered words. 

“W-what’s so funny?” Cat asked. 

“Nothing, just go to sleep, that bed, there.” Axton pointed to the top bunk of a bed pushed up against the wall. 

“Alright.” 

Catlynne climbed up onto the bed and curled up under the covers. The chatter eventually died down and she could sleep. 

In the middle of the night, Gaige, who was sleeping on the bed below, started snoring loudly. Cat tried to put a pillow over her ears and roll over, but to no avail. She decided to give up on sleeping and went to go wash her face. With a sigh, Sterling jumped down from the bunk and headed to the bathroom where she cupped some cold water in her dusty, scraped hands and splashed it over her face, drying off with a bloodstained towel afterwards. 

Just as she was about to crawl back up, Tina rushed in with a grin on her face. 

“Get up bitches! Helios is goin down!!!” She yelled, before running out again. 

“Wha-?” Lilith asked, coming down the stairs. 

“I dunno, she said Helios is crashing or somethin.” Catlynne replied. 

The Vault Hunters all got up to see what was happening, and ran out to watch Helios, the Hyperion space station, falling out of the sky in pieces. One of said pieces was getting real close, Catlynne thought. Too late, an escape pod came bursting through the shield and smashed Cat right into the ground as she went to grab something to eat while watching the show. The person inside it was dead, too, and no one noticed until the day after. They didn’t even have a proper burial, just tossed her off the side. She landed in the dust, but not a soul recognized her. Apparently, it was her fate to end up as just another piece of meat in the desert. Whatever, that’s Pandora for ya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this isn't longer, guys. I have no motivation for this fic anymore. I might be posting the first few chapters of a completely new and original story soon, so be on the lookout for that.   
> It's been fun!  
> ~JustMaggie

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back! This story will most likely be longer than the previous one, as you may tell by the size of this chapter. Also, I haven't written the entire fic already, so...yeah! Will probs update weekly now!  
> Thanks  
> ~JustMaggie


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